1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, and particularly to an electrical connector assembly having an improved grounding means.
2. Description of Related Art
It is common in electronic industry to provide a header connector having a plurality of male pins and mounted on a mother board, and a receptacle connector mounted on a daughter board. The receptacle connector has a plurality of receptacle contacts for electrically connecting with the male pins of the header connector. It is also known to shield the header and the receptacle connectors for protection from Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,618 shows such an electrical connector assembly comprising a header and a receptacle connectors. The header connector comprises a header housing having a bottom wall and two opposite side walls, a plurality of contact pins attached on the bottom wall, and header shielding plates mounted on the side walls. The header shielding plates have contact springs projecting into the header housing through openings in the side walls. The receptacle connector comprises a receptacle housing, a plurality of female contact elements mounted in the receptacle housing, and a receptacle shielding plate having a long and a short legs extending along an upper and a back side of the receptacle housing, respectively. When the receptacle connector is inserted into the header housing, the contact springs contact the receptacle shielding plate.
However, the contact springs of the header shielding plates extend in a direction opposite to the insertion direction of the receptacle connector, which increases insertion resistance of the receptacle connector, thereby adversely affecting a reliable mating between the header and the receptacle connectors.
Hence, an electrical connector assembly having an improved grounding means is desired.